The invention relates to an exhaust and deodorizing system for an animal housing. More specifically, the invention is a kit that can be added to an existing passively-ventilated animal housing and thereby enable active ventilation of said housing and deodorization of the air exhausted from said housing. In the preferred embodiment, the invention is employed on an enclosed litter box for a cat.
The need to control unpleasant odors that emanate from an animal housing, such as an enclosed litter box for a cat, has inspired a wide array of inventions. Today, animal odor control devices for animal housings are well known and exist in many forms and varieties. Walton, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,289,800, discloses a passive ventilation system. Warm air is deodorized by a charcoal filter as it rises from the animal housing and passes through the filter in the housing""s roof. Griffith, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,095,559 discloses an active ventilation system. Air in the animal housing is vented away from the housing by an electric fan connected to a tubular exhaust conduit. The Griffith patent, as well as Miksitz, U.S. Pat. No. 5,044,325, and Roberts, U.S. Pat. No. 5,140,948 disclose odor control devices that are permanently fixed to the animal housing.
The previously described designs are all limited by the fact that each is specific to a specially designed and adapted animal housing. For an owner of a typical, passively-vented animal housing, there is no system that he or she can employ that is designed to modify such a housing to provide it with forced ventilation/odor control capabilities.
The invention is an active exhaust and deodorizing system for an animal housing. An electrically-powered fan is employed to draw air from within the housing. The removed air is then filtered and/or deodorized and/or scented before being exhausted into the ambient environment. In the preferred embodiment, the invention is capable of converting a basic, passively-ventilated housing, such as an enclosed litter box for a cat, or a habitat for a rodent, into a housing that is actively ventilated.
The system is designed to be placed atop a basic animal housing and make use of either an existing or added ventilation hole in the roof of the housing. Air from the interior of the housing passes through the ventilation hole and is then drawn through an air intake of an add-on exhaust unit that houses a fan. The air than passes through a removable, disposable filter and/or passes over a fragrance bar before exiting the unit via an air exhaust port. An optional air de-ionizer may also be included in the exhaust unit. The de-ionizer would be at least partially located in the air""s flow path.
In addition to the exhaust unit that contains the fan, the system includes an adapter/sealing member in the form of a flexible mat or membrane. The mat includes an opening for the exhaust unit""s air intake and is designed to overlie a significant portion of the roof of the animal housing. The mat is placed on the roof of the housing and then functions to create a substantially airtight seal between the exhaust unit""s air intake and the interior of the animal housing. The mat""s flexibility enables it to conform to the surface contour of almost any roof in a airtight manner. At the same time, the mat can also seal any underlying roof-located ventilation holes in the animal housing that are not in registration with the exhaust unit""s air intake. The mat is preferably made of a polyurethane plastic material.
One object and feature of the invention is that exact registration of the air intake and the ventilation hole in the animal housing""s roof is not required. Since the flexible mat includes a cut-out of the appropriate size for the exhaust unit""s air intake, any portion of the ventilation hole outside the perimeter of the cut-out and underlying the mat is effectively sealed by the mat.
Another object and feature of the invention, as previously noted, is the ability of the mat to seal unneeded ventilation holes in the animal housing""s roof. In this manner, even animal housings that feature dispersed top-located ventilation holes may be efficiently and effectively adapted by the invention.
It is a further feature of a first embodiment of the invention that the entire system need not be permanently attached to the housing. The system can be placed atop the housing""s roof to thereby cover the housing""s ventilation hole(s) and make a substantially airtight seal with the roof without resorting to glues, nails or caulking. In a second embodiment of the invention, the system""s flexible mat can be permanently secured to the housing""s roof using an adhesive to thereby create an airtight seal while completely and permanently sealing any unneeded holes in the portion of the housing""s roof covered by the mat. In said second embodiment, the exhaust unit can preferably be separated from the flexible mat.
There may also be provided in the kit a sensing means operably connected to the electric fan for detecting the presence of an animal in the housing. The sensing means activates the electric fan when an animal is present in the housing and deactivates the fan when the animal leaves the housing.